Coaching
Treatment For An Eating Disorder Or Body Dysmorphic Disorder
In Colorado Only
If you suspect that either your overconcern with how you look is to the point of being obsessive, or a body part or overall look that creates moodiness to say the least, and/or/you suspect that your eating patterns have gone outside the limits of normalcy, you are probably correct in your suspicions. You could probably use some help outside your box.
Besides the EDs that we already know about – for example, anorexia, which typically presents severe underweight/low Body Mass (BMI) Index due to a highly restrictive/avoidant feeding pattern and bulimia – a pattern of binge-purge behavior that involves overeating followed by vomiting, ingesting laxatives, and/or engaging in excessive exercise. There is a plethora of related, sometimes overlapping, lesser-known conditions, many of which are not yet deemed official psychiatric diagnoses listed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Text Revised (DSM-5-TR).
BDD = Body Dysmorphic Disorder (an extreme preoccupation with a body part, parts, or body size/shape). [This disorder is a distinct psychiatric diagnosis that frequently accompanies a disturbed eating pattern.]
“Diabulimia” = Diabetic Bulimia means controlling weight by manipulating insulin.
“Pregorexia” = Undereating to the point of danger to mother and/or child while pregnant.
“Bulimarexia” = Alternating between restriction/avoidance/fasting and binging followed by purge behavior. [If the patient’s weight/BMI is very low, this pattern is considered a subtype of anorexia nervosa.]
“Bigorexia,” aka muscle dysmorphia, is a condition that involves being overly concerned with building muscle on one’s body.
“Orthorexia” = an extreme obsession with eating healthy, pure, and/or clean.
BED = Binge Eating Disorder (commonly associated with obesity) [This disorder is an official psychiatric diagnosis.]
Some patients are diagnosed with ED-NOS (‘Eating Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified’) or OSFED (‘Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder’). People with ED-NOS or OSFED have symptoms that are similar to one or more eating disorders in the DSM, but may not meet all the criteria.
Of course, for a successful recovery, eating disorder cases require a multidisciplinary approach that addresses the psychological, physical, and behavioral aspects of the disorder., and Amy can help get a patient going in a healthier, happier direction.
Cancer Coaching
During most cancer treatment, little psychological support is offered during this critical time of personal transformation. After being deemed NED (No Evidence of Disease) or attaining PCR (Pathological Complete Response to treatment), it does not always release a patient from the fear of recurrent disease. The most common type of breast cancer (ER+PR+) can resurge twenty-five years later. The triple negative variety tends to return faster, which is equally harrowing, but some things can mitigate the potential for a revisit.
Amy is not a medical doctor, but a medical esthetician, a cancer survivor with a heavy health science background and tremendous enthusiasm for health, but is not giving medical advice per se. She may merely share what has been working for her regarding both types of breast cancer she was diagnosed with, as well as malignant melanoma (diagnosed at age 28), and what she does to prevent ALL other cancers from cropping up.
If you are reading this, your goal is to get cancer-free, stay cancer-free (or help a dear one stay or become cancer-free). The secondary goal is to maintain your sanity and even positivity.
Improving oneself amidst feeling deflated in energy, with an uncomfortable obsession with maintaining one’s body….this does not have to be your reality for more than a stint.
It’s time to feel confident and comfortable in your own skin once again, right?
Methodology
Amy uses a combination of less traditional but well-proven methods to effectively treat disordered thought patterns and related concerns, such as eating disorders and other issues that can follow a cancer diagnosis and/or treatment. If you feel alone or have not yet succeeded with other specialists, therapists, or programs, Amy encourages you to contact her without hesitation. Her approach focuses on long-term psychological adjustment, expanding mindfulness, and promoting radiant health through the use of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Amy facilitates profound personal transformation in addition to growth in the areas mentioned above. She can, ideally, guide individuals through appearance-related hang-ups to acceptance or even transcendence, including those strongly influenced by a pervasive social media culture.